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South Island Volcano | John Seach
(Honel Island)
Kenya
2.63 N, 36.60 E
summit elevation 700 m
Stratovolcano
South Island is the largest island in Lake Turkana, northern Kenya.
It lies 19 km from the southern edge of the lake shore.
There are 16 craters on the island aligned on a central ridge. In
the northern part of the island there are lava flows (over 10,000
years old) which reached the coast. The island has a central ridge
running north and south which is composed of a series of ash cones.
On the east flank of the central ridge a series of lava flows have
covered the whole side of the island making it is almost impassable
on foot. The western slopes are covered with soft ash. In the
northern part of the island the most recent volcanic activity
produced small flows of black lava that extended over ashes
following the contour of the ground like black glaciers.
There is a legend among the Turkana people that a number of fires
used
to be seen on the island and that they gradually died away till none
were left. This may have indicated volcanic activity at South
Island.
1934 Expedition Fatalities
An expedition to Lake Rudolf (Turkana) in 1934 resulted in the
deaths of two expedition members (Dyson and Martin) near South
Island. During a search two tins, two oars, and Dyson's hat were
found on the west shore of the lake, over 100 km north of the scene
of the accident. Mysteriously, the boat also disappeared along with
two 4-gallon buoyancy drums.
Further reading
Karson, J.A. and Curtis, P.C., 1994. Quaternary volcanic centres of the Turkana Rift, Kenya. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 18(1), pp.15-35.
South Island Volcano Eruptions
1888